The game will be
televised live Friday, Dec. 29 on ESPN at noon CST (1:00 PM Eastern)
at LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans NFL team.
"Nashville is very proud to host Clemson and Kentucky for
this year's Bowl," said Mayor Bill Purcell. "We look forward to
hosting the thousands of visitors that will travel to our great city
to experience all that we have to offer. The Bowl is a wonderful
opportunity to showcase Nashville not only to our friends from
Clemson and Kentucky, but also to the nation."
Dale Polley, Bowl chairman, looks forward to this exciting match-up.
"We're excited to host Clemson and Kentucky in this year's
Bowl," said Dale Polley, Bowl chairman. "Tens of thousands of fans
from across the Southeast will again visit Nashville on New Year's
Weekend. It is sure to be a busy time for local hotels, businesses
and entertainment attractions."
Clemson is led by one of the nation's top running back duos,
James Davis and C.J. Spiller. Davis and Spiller top the ACC's most
prolific offense as the Tigers lead the conference in scoring,
rushing offense and total offense. Clemson is making its first
postseason appearance in Nashville.
"We are excited to be selected for the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Presented By Bridgestone," said Terry Don Phillips, Clemson
University director of athletics. "This will be our first appearance
in the Bowl and it will be Clemson's first appearance in the city of
Nashville for a college football game since 1960. Nashville is a
great city and has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment for our
fans. It is also a game that will take place in a state of the art
NFL facility against Kentucky, an outstanding team from the SEC."
Kentucky has the SEC's leading passer, quarterback Andre
Woodson. Woodson led the SEC's top-ranked passing attack by
averaging a league high 268 yards per game. The Wildcats are making
their second postseason appearance in Nashville. They also
participated in the 1999 Bowl.
"Our players, coaches and fans are thrilled to be going to
the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Presented By Bridgestone," said
Mitch Barnhart, University of Kentucky director of athletics.
"Nashville is such a great city, and our fans have shown time and
time again how much they enjoy visiting there. I'm so happy that all
of the hard work and effort put forth by our football team is being
rewarded appropriately. It is going to be a great match-up, and I'm
sure the Big Blue Nation will descend upon Nashville in force to
support the Wildcats."
Colin Reed, chairman, president, and chief executive office
of Gaylord Entertainment Company, is pleased with the decision.
"We're excited and look forward to hosting Clemson and
Kentucky as representatives of the ACC and SEC during this year's
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Presented By Bridgestone," said Reed.
"The new ACC vs. SEC match-up is a great direction for this Bowl game
and the fan bases of these two teams will definitely impact Music
City's tourism industry during New Year's weekend."
Bridgestone officials agree.
"The match-up between Clemson and Kentucky should be exciting
for college football fans and great for our city," said Mark A.
Emkes, chairman and CEO of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. and
Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC. Added Emkes, "We are
thrilled to serve as a host for these great programs from the ACC and
SEC and are extremely proud to be the presenting sponsor of this
incredible community event."
Ticket prices for the Bowl begin at $15 for upper level, $50
for lower level and $70 for club level. Tickets can be purchased by
calling the Clemson ticket office at 1-800-CLEMSON.
The Bowl enters its ninth year and matches teams from the ACC
and the SEC. Since its inception, the Bowl has produced a $95 million
regional economic impact, more than 39 million television viewers and
more than $14 million in contributions to the participating
universities through the Bowl's payout.
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